A good training plan acts like a navigation system: it warns of traffic jams, suggests alternative routes, and gets you to your destination faster. Prevention against early drug abuse works the same way. It steers young people away from risky detours—towards stability, performance, and joy in life. Those seeking high performance in life don’t start with therapy, but with early guidance in decision-making.

Early drug abuse refers to the initiation of substance use, such as alcohol, tobacco, cannabis, inhalants, or other substances during adolescence when the brain is still malleable. This phase of neural plasticityadaptable networking of the brain makes young people receptive—both to learning and to risk behavior. Prevention aims to lower risk factorsinfluences that make problematic behavior more likely, such as peer pressure, low impulse control, lack of education and increase protective factorsresources such as strong bonds, life skills, positive role models that strengthen resilience. It is important to distinguish between universal prevention (for all), selective prevention (for groups at increased risk), and indicated prevention (for adolescents showing early signs of problematic use). Schools, families, and communities are the levers here. They create clear expectations, impart life skills, and provide attractive alternatives to substance use.

Early use not only shapes habits but also brain circuits for reward and self-control—with consequences for concentration, sleep, mood, and resilience. Inhalants like solvents or "whitener" are particularly risky: they can trigger acute heart arrhythmias, brain damage, and mental health issues, and have a destructive effect on family and community structures ^[1]. Alcohol and tobacco use during adolescence increase the risk of later poly-substance use, impair academic performance and athletic recovery, and are associated with risky clusters of behavior such as simultaneous smoking and harmful drinking ^[2]. Conversely, well-implemented school and parent programs have shown they can delay risky drinking, decrease cannabis use, and strengthen the connection to school—a buffer for mental health and performance in daily life ^[3].

European school programs like Unplugged, Preventure, and IPSYcare were evaluated in a scoping review of 21 studies. The findings: Unplugged reduced cannabis use and heavy drinking for up to 15 months after the intervention, IPSYcare showed long-term benefits like reduced alcohol and tobacco use as well as stronger school connectedness. Preventure was particularly effective among high-risk groups, such as delaying binge drinking, but is less generalizable. The common denominator: standardized programs work but become more effective with contextual adaptations—and target-specific approaches are crucial for at-risk adolescents ^[3]. A second look at leisure and sports reveals a large cross-sectional study from Brazil with over 16,000 students found no consistent protective effect from artistic, community, or sports-related activities against substance use; only religious activities showed a weak but stable negative association with alcohol and drug use. This debunks the widespread myth that “just being busy” is sufficient, emphasizing the necessity for quality-assured, content-based preventive programs ^[4]. Additionally, a prospective cohort study from Croatia shows: team sports do not automatically protect. Adolescents who never participated in team sports or quit were at a higher risk of simultaneous smoking and harmful drinking; particularly risky was the phase of intense performance selection. Therefore, prevention must sensitively accompany transitions in sports and mitigate dropout ^[2]. Finally, a randomized study on AI-supported life skills training for at-risk adolescents showed: six sessions improved creative problem-solving and self-protective behavior—two core skills that help resist temptation. This supports the integration of digital, adaptive learning formats in school prevention, provided educators are properly trained ^[5].

- Prioritize parent and school education: Utilize established programs (e.g., Unplugged/IPSYcare) or their principles at home: clear rules, role-playing on peer pressure, facts about risks. Schools should adapt content contextually and target high-risk groups specifically—improving effectiveness and sustainability ^[3].
- Rethink sports as a protective factor: Focus not only on “being busy” but also on supervised teams with an emphasis on team culture, stress coping, and substance rules. Accompany transitions (e.g., squad selection) to avoid dropout; this is precisely when the risk of simultaneous smoking and harmful drinking increases ^[2]. Avoid assuming that any recreational activities automatically provide protection; quality trumps quantity ^[4].
- Systematically teach life skills: Implement AI-supported modules on creative problem-solving, impulse control, and self-defense in the classroom or youth services. Prerequisite: ensuring the digital competence of educators and reliable technology availability ^[5].
- Utilize community power: Build prevention based on data—with tools like the “Communities That Care” approach: identify local risks, select appropriate evidence-based measures, and monitor implementation. This ensures resources do not flow into well-meaning, but ineffective strategies ^[6].
- Specifically address inhalants: Explicitly educate about short-term dangers (heart rhythm disturbances, brain damage) and long-term consequences. Establish early warning systems in schools and clubs, training educators/coaches to recognize and have clear intervention pathways for counseling and treatment ^[1].

Prevention is not an elective subject but the infrastructure for a capable life. Those who create skills, bonds, and clear guidelines early on alter biographies—away from risk, towards focus, energy, and longevity. Now is the moment to plan prevention like a good training program: evidence-based, adapted, and consistently implemented.